'Javanized' representations of biblical scenes

By M. Dwi Marianto

YOGYAKARTA (JP): About 15 km to the south of Yogyakarta Palace, in Ganjuran, Bantul district, there is a Catholic church built in the 1920s. The architecture of the building and its decorations adopt a Javanese style.

To the east of the main building there is a Hindu-Javanese temple built in 1927. Inside, there is a statue of Christ which is quite different from the usual representation of Christ.

The statue of Christ in this church is represented as a Javanese character, a messiah similar in appearance and gesture to a Javanese-Hindu king. The procedure for liturgy, flower- sprinkling symbolism, the accompanying gamelan music and the procession are all Javanized. Once a year, in the last week of June, there is a grand liturgy in the temple's yard, conducted according to Javanese tradition.

However, in this year's event, a different touch was added. It featured an Christian-themed art exhibition of the works of Geoff Tedd, an Australian artist born in Melbourne in 1950 with a number of art exhibitions in Indonesia to his credit.

The exhibition in Yogyakarta was held between June 22 and 24, 2001. The interior of the church was called "Jesus's Sacred Heart" and altered the usual atmosphere of the place of worship with the presence of colors and a diversity of shapes representing stories from the Bible. Close to the altar, next to the pulpit, there was a painting in the form of a vertical panel with fish and bread as the subject matter. This was a clear metaphorical reference to the miracle that Jesus performed when he made three pieces of bread and two fish enough to feed 5,000 people.

Unlike his works exhibited in Yogyakarta in 1999 under the theme titled "Diponegoro's Struggle", this time Todd explored a religious theme and presented stories about Jesus's life through his paintings.

He has, for example, taken his inspiration from a number of stories from the New Testament and interpreted them according to an artistic language most intimate to him. Take for example stories about the crucifixion, the relationship between Mary and Jesus, Judas the betrayer of Jesus. Geoff's representation is significant in that he has tried to Javanize the figures used to represent a number of stories from the New Testament. The following examples will illustrate this aspect.

In Jesus's Sacred Heart, which was on display on the second floor facing the alter, a space usually used for choir rehearsals, there was the figure of a clean-shaven young man. He has a thick upper lip, which is perhaps the result of Geoff's observation of Javanese lips.

Representing Jesus, this figure is portrayed with an open chest and the sacred heart bleeding. Exactly above it there is a crown of thorns and a cross. His left hand is pierced from the penetration of nails and pointed toward the wounded sacred heart, while the right hand is in the position of someone giving advice. The eyes stare straight at the viewer, as if saying something about the bleeding heart.

Next to this work there is a picture depicting Mary and Jesus with a red background and the symbolic representation of Mount Merapi spewing lava. The presence of Mount Merapi shows Geoff's attempt to Javanize the central figures in the Christian tradition.

He depicts Mary, wearing a blue cloak, embracing her son Jesus with her hand in such a way that it immediately strikes one as the position of a hand in a classical Javanese dance, reflecting solemnity. Mary is pictured in a three-quarter position. Her right eye sheds drops of blood, a symbol of sorrow.

The young Jesus is clasped in her embrace. His hair is dark. His two eyes stare straight at the viewer. This shows Geoff's attempt to Javanize the countenance of Mary and Jesus.

What's unique about the religious works by Todd are those showing his personal reflections on the events told in the New Testament, events that are undoubtedly of special meaning to him. In this series, Todd presents three pictures with a special emphasis on Maria Magdalene.

One of the three works shows blond-haired Maria Magdalene stroking Jesus's right hand, which is sweating and bleeding from the hole pierced by a nail.

Jesus falls flat on the ground. In another of his works, the viewers can see sorrow and helplessness on the part of Maria Magdalene when she finds Jesus' grave empty. Another painting depicts Maria Magdalene and a toiling farmer in the background.

Of all the works on display, two are beyond the usual tradition of the Catholic church as they feature Judas, one of Jesus's disciples who betrayed him as the central figure of the painting.

Usually the paintings found in a church are those related to the crucifixion otherwise known as the Way of the Cross. Usually Judas is never depicted as a central figure. In Todd's work, Judas is pictured as a man with a beard and moustache.

Emptiness is displayed in his face, the look of a person feeling deep regret. He is portrayed as having silver eyes. Interestingly, Judas is dressed like a contemporary gentleman, a clear reference that Judas's spirit remains even today.

The exhibition of the paintings by Geoff Todd at Tyas Dalem (Jesus's Sacred Heart) Church, Yogyakarta, with Carlos de Haas as the curator, is an interesting attempt of re-contextualization.

This is the portrayal of a series of personal reflections on religious scenes placed in a real context.

The writer is an art curator of the research department of the Indonesian Arts Institute, Yogyakarta.

Todd is exhibiting his works at the Atlet Century Park Hotel, Jakarta, until Sunday (today).